BBQ Season is officially HERE! Thank gosh, I was kind of getting over stews and chillis and soups...it's time for patio, friends, and sunshine.

This recipe for guacamole is my go-to because it is pretty allergen-free so it pleases everyone at the party! You can use it as a dip with chips, veggies, endives leaves or spread it on toast for an Insta-worthy #avotoast or top your burger with it or really eat it with your hands, who am I to judge?

For the cheesy, ranch flavour, I just sprinkled on some Rawcology Superfood Coconut Chips Toppers. These handy little flavour boosters are just small pieces of coconut chips that are dehydrated with wholesome ingredients, like activated sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, himalayan sea salt to name a few. It is free of all the crappy additives, such as GMOs, gluten, dairy, processed oils, sugar, preservatives. Plus, it's made by the sweetest Torontonian named Tara. As a fellow female entrepreneur, I am so inspired by her work ethic and bubbly personality. So when she asked me to be a Rawkstar Ambassador, it was a NO-BRAINER for me. I already purchased the products regularly and featured them in my workshop swag bags, so I was actually just flattered to be associated with the Rawcology brand. Okay I'll stop gushing. You can read my Ambassador profile/interview here and learn more about me!

You can also use these toppers on salads, oatmeals, sandwiches, soups...

On to the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 tomato

1/2 stem of green onion aka scallion aka spring onion

2 limes

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp chipotle powder

A pinch of cayenne

Rawcology Rockin' Ranch Superfood Topper!

Salt and Pepper to taste

optional: 1 tbsp fresh cilantro

To-do:

Finely dice the red bell pepper, tomato, and cilantro.

Juice your limes, remove any seeds.

Cut your avocados lengthwise, remove the pit, and scoop out that tasty flesh.

Mash your avocado in a bowl with a form, then add in your spices, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Mix it with a fork or throw it in the food processor for a smoother texture.

Then, add in your tomato and bell peppers.

Sprinkle on some of that Rockin' Ranch Superfood Topper and green onion before serving and watch it disappear! ;)

It’s #TacoThursday (not actually a thing) because who doesn't want an extra day to celebrate tacos? I made this taco salad a while back with Trulocal's pasture-raised bison and Rawcology’s smoky cheez coconut chips. It is as simple as it gets and packs lots of heat to warm your face up on a windy spring day.

Meat: finely dice and sauté 1/4 red onion, 4 fresh garlic cloves, 1/2 fresh jalapeño (seeds removed) in 1 tbsp of ghee over medium heat, once you smell the onions, add in 1lb ground bison. Add in 2tsp each of garlic powder, chipotle, smoked paprika, cumin, sea salt, and black pepper. Mix well, remove from heat when meat is cooked through. You can easily sub this out for any ground meat or sausage or tempeh or sprouted legumes of your choice.

Salad: grab a big handful of shredded romaine lettuce, throw in some cherry tomato halves, bell pepper slices, diced avocado, red onion (I pickled mine in some apple cider vinegar, EVOO, and a drizzle of raw honey). Last but not least, I topped mine with some Rawcology smoky cheez coconut chips for that cheddar flavaaa and crunch. Top with the bison, and some cholula and cilantro if you have some!

If I was a superhero, my tragic flaw would definitely be salty, crunchy snack foods, amongst other things like videos of adorable baby animals, videos of adorable old people being badass, videos of soldiers coming home from war....

ANYWAYS, this post is about salty crunchy foods! Kale chips are a great alternative to potato chips, fries, pretzels, croutons because:

it's full of fibre to fill you up and satiate you rather than make you crave more

it's full of vitamin K - important player in blood clotting/healing and transporting calcium around your body

it's full of antioxidants and cartoenoids that protect your cells against aging and oxidation

it's full of minerals which are pretty much great for your skeletal, respiratory, circulatory (allllll of the) systems in your meatsuit

This recipe takes 20minutes and tastes so addictive. A must-try!

Ingredients:

A bunch of kale

1tbsp ghee or coconut oil

Spices of your choice!

Sea salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 300F.

1. Wash 1 bunch of kale and THOROUGHLY dry leaves. *This is the most important step to achieving maximum crunch. Use a salad spinner or tea towel to get rid of ALL moisture.

2. Then, use kitchen shears to cut the leaves off stems and into small bite sized pieces.

3. Toss the kale with 1tbsp coconut oil or ghee. Massage the shit out of it so it’s all evenly coated.

4. Add in whatever seasonings you want. I did 1tbsp each of fennel seeds, granulated garlic, cumin, crushed red pepper, and sundries tomatoes for some Italian inspired flavours. Then grind sea salt all over and tossed to distribute.

5. Bake it on a foiled or parchment lined sheet pan at 300F for 10mins. At the 10min mark, I rotated the sheet pans in the oven and then baked it for another 5mins or until golden crispaaay. *Keep a close eye on it after you rotate because depending on the hotness of your oven, the chips will burn in the blink of an eye if you're not paying attention!

6. Once it's done, remove from heat and let cool! *This is the most difficult part of this whole thing. WAIT for it to cool completely to reach optimal texture.

All the Game of Thrones fans out there know that Winter is Here, in Canada anyway. To prevent yourself from turning into a Wight Walker with deep wrinkles and terrible bone health, I am sharing my go-to bone broth recipe with you.